What do you picture when you hear "an iceberg?" Probably a huge chunk of ice the size of a ship, right? Well, how about an iceberg the size of London? How about an iceberg four times the size of London?
That's right: in July 2017, a block of ice that dwarfs the city of London broke off Antarctica. The monstrous iceberg has a surface area of 5,800 square kilometres (London is only 1,572 sq km) and weighs 1 trillion tons — a veritable floating island.
This is actually enough ice to cover the entire United States in a 4.6-inch-thick skating rink, according to Climate Central.
While some were fast to say this huge iceberg is a result of human-induced climate change, many scientists remain hesitant about making a direct connection.
For those already seeking refuge in the mountains, fear not: A68 has only added 0.58 mm to the global sea level and it's already floating, which means it can melt all it wants — the sea level won't change any further because of it.
However, if A68's bigger Antarctic counterparts decide to go floating — well, that's another story.
